UConn Rap Group 1-2 Kidz Sells Out Show At Toad’s Place

Weekends at college are synonymous with sleeping all day, partying all night and maybe getting some homework done, but only if there’s time.

But for a certain group of students at the University of Connecticut, the weekend is also synonymous with playing a sold out concert at a legendary Connecticut venue.

 

 

 

1-2 Kidz performing at Toad's Place.

Over the weekend, 1-2 Kidz took the stage at Toad’s Place in New Haven. The rap group, comprised of five friends, Matt “Illy Puddy” Healy, Tommy “TommyGo” Gorecki, Matt “G-Money” Gaboury, Luis “Juberries” Lluberes and manager Justin Hannan, are astounded at their seemingly overnight success.

 

“Coming into this a month ago, we had no idea we’d be playing shows. U2 and Jay-Z have played at Toad’s, so this is a really big deal for us,” said Hannan.

1-2 Kidz first started when creator, Healy, began rapping in high school. Known as the “1-2 Kid,” Healy combined forces with long-time friend, Lluberes, and the two were creating songs in a shed behind Healy’s house in no time.

Healy, a.k.a Illy Puddy, continued his hobby of rapping when he came to UConn. Friends quickly began to take interest this past fall and Gorecki and Gaboury jumped on the 1-2 Kidz bandwagon.

 

 

1-2 Kidz

“We started playing at our parties and friend’s parties. It was a great confidence boost once people began to chant the words to our songs with us. Our friends support is what caused us to become more serious about our music,” said Healy.

Only having about five songs recorded, 1-2 Kidz knew big moves had to be made to gain the success for which they yearned. The guys purchased a microphone along with some other recording equipment and quickly began making new music.

“We banged out a bunch of songs in just one night,” said Gorecki.

Instead of spending their spring break boozin’ on the beaches of Mexico, 1-2 Kidz spent their time recording the group’s first mixtape in New York.

During this time, Hannan decided to submit their track “Stoolapalooza” to college Web site BarStoolSports.com. Hannan heard back from the site’s creator immediately and “Stoolapalooza” was posted on the Web site, receiving 20,000 views in two days. 1-2 Kidz was then invited to join New England rapper Sam Adams on BarStoolSports.com’s spring tour, Stoolapalooza.

 

 

Stoolapalooza 2010

 

With the completion of their first mixtape on March 25, 1-2 Kidz released “Fools Day” a mere week later on April 1.

1-2 Kidz posted the entire mixtape on their Facebook page and gained close to 2,000 fans in one week.

“I knew people were going to like it,” said Healy.

In addition to the show at Toad’s Place, 1-2 Kidz will also be performing at the Mullin’s Center at the University of Massachusetts on April 30. Despite the new rockstar-status and success of “Fools Day” though, 1-2 Kidz are not letting their victory get to their heads.

“There are six stops on the tour. We’re set to perform at two of them now, but can’t do the others because of finals,” said Hannan.

Perhaps the recently incarcerated Lil’ Wayne can take a study tip from 1-2 Kidz.

Soon-to-be the new party anthem of UConn, 1-2 Kidz’s “tribute to the ladies” is a huge hit on-campus already.

“I ain’t got no affinity to the girls up at Trinity, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
I get all up in that ass when I’m up at UMass, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
Eastern’s fine if you don’t want a dime, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
Damn sure ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,” Boasts the lyrics of  “UConn Girls.”

“We’re gonna have to switch those lyrics up when we perform at UMass though,” said Healy.

Good choice, the women of UMass would probably not appreciate getting dissed on their own turf!

With the end of this semester right around the corner and summer rapidly approaching, 1-2 Kidz have big plans that definitely do not include relaxing. The group aspires to produce an “industry-quality” mixtape and play lots of shows, according to Hannan.

“1-2 Kidz started as ‘dorm-room rap,’ but now we’re out of the dorms and are moving on to bigger and better things,” said Healy.

Say Hello To…..Nicki Minaj!

Nicki Minaj. Courtesy of NickiMinajFans.com.

I really did not expect Nicki Minaj to look like this.    

I decided I was a fan of Minaj a few months ago when Bedrock first came out. Her verse in the song alongside Lil’ Wayne, Drake and Lloyd is super fun and of course, super sexual. When I downloaded Itty Bitty Piggie today I realized that I actually have no idea what Nicki Minaj looks like.  Using my always- trusty Google image search I stumbled across many intriguing pictures of her.  

JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!

 

I must be blunt- she looks like a tranny with daddy issues on Jerry Springer. And kudos on the fur, I smell a PETA protest…  

Whether I’m a bit frightened by Minaj’s appearance or not, I think she’s  hugely talented. Good female rappers are hard to come by and I think this is the first one we’ve seen since Lil’ Kim of Missy Elliot. And just like Lil’ Kim, 25-year-old Minaj boasts a lot of bedroom experience in her music.  

Signed by Lil’ Wayne’s label, Young Money Entertainment, Minaj has been recording since 2007. Fun fact- she was actually found on Myspace. See the benefits of social media?  Hope you’re reading, Professor Hancock!  

Check out Minaj’s first mixtape, Playtime Is Over and newest album, Barbie World. My favorite tracks are posted below, enjoy!

I Get Crazy-

Bedrock-

Itty Bitty Piggy-

The Ice In My Teeth Keeps The Cristal Cold.

 

Have you ever listened to a rap song and had to rewind a couple of seconds back to listen to the lyric again just to make sure that the rapper really said that? Do you listen to rap music not because it’s fun to sing-a-long to in the car, but because the lyrics make you laugh hysterically? Or do you listen to rap music to steal a clever lyric to claim as your own when you drunkenly repeat it to your friends later? Not that I ever do that or anything…

Lil' Wayne Mad Magazine Cover.

If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, I have an Internet-gem that you are going to absolutely adore. During dinner with a few pals tonight, my friend Samantha told me about a website she found and knew I would love. I was immediately intrigued and clicked on the link that she sent me as soon as I got home. What I discovered next is now one of my new favorite websites.

Courtesy of SnacksAndShit.com.

SnacksAndShit.com is a blog completely devoted to picking out those outrageous rap-lyrics and trying to depict their “real meaning.” Started in  February 2009, the site was inspired by Jay-Z’s song Hey Papi. According to SnacksAndShit.com, the lyric, “No room service, just snacks and shit,” was the line that sparked creators Chris Macho and Chris D’Elia’s obsession with rap and hip-hop lyrics. Find out more about their site here.

 I have always been a fan of rap, but let’s face it, some a lot of the song lyrics are completely ridiculous. Rather than getting offended at the vulgar and degrading lyrics that most women find repulsive, I often times just laugh in disbelief. Like the time Kanye West said, “I’m Christopher Columbus, ya’ll just the pilgrims,” in Swagga Like Us.

Even Georgie-Dubz is laughing!

Instead of being bitter that I did not think of making a website about silly rap-lyrics first, I am providing readers with a few of my personal favorite preposterous lyrics:

1. “Even deaf bitches say hi to me, She tell the blind bitches, She say I gotta see,” Upgrade U- Lil’ Wayne

I’m sure if she was still with us today, Helen Keller would have been a huge Weezy fan.

2. “I like them black, white, Puerto Rican or Haitian, Like Japanese, Chinese, or even Asian,” Balla Baby- Chingy

Dear Chingy, get a map. Love, your Chinese, Japanese and Asian fans.

3. “Young, black and famous, with money hanging out the anus,”  Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down- P.Diddy

Ouch, sounds painful. Might want to use some of that money to get that little issue checked out.

4. “My rap career goes back further than yo father’s hair line, Its Ludacris, I pack more nuts than Delta Airlines,” Comin’ 2 America- Ludacris

Obviously Ludacris has not recently flown with Delta Airlines. Due to budget cut-backs, they do not provide customers with nuts, or even pretzels, anymore. Sad, I know.

I Gotta Have Patron, I Gotta Have The Beat.

 

Weezer and Lil’ Wayne go together like peanut-butter and jelly.

Don’t believe me? Try it.

Courtesy of YepYep.com

 

There is just something about Weezy’s raspy but yet smooth-as-sugar voice that when combined with Weezer’s powerful instrumentals and choruses makes me turn the volume all the way up on my speakers.

Courtesy of RollingStone.com

Produced by Mole Star, the 10-track album mixing popular Weezer and Lil’ Wayne songs, cleverly titled Weezyer, was released on the Internet January 2009. Fans were able to download the entire album at Weezyer.com, but according to the Mole Star the website had to be taken down due to lack of support and funding. Mash-up lovers can still listen to Weezyer in its entirety here.The creator of Weezyer made a Facebook fan-page, Myspace, blog and website to promote it,  but still posts about disatisfaction with the project’s popularity.

Weezyer was leaked on the Internet months before Weezer’s latest alubm, Raditude, was released on October 27, 2009. Raditude contains a track  featuring Lil’ Wayne , one of my fall 2009 favorites, Can’t Stop Partying. Who’s to say that this collaboration wasn’t inspired by the genius that is Mole Star? Rivers Cuomo must have stumbled upon Weezyer on the Internet and knew that a verse done by Weezy in Can’t Stop Partying was needed to amp up album sales.

Regardless of who thought of it first, Weezyer is 100 percent worth the free listen. I am not just saying this because I love mash-ups, Lil’ Wayne and Weezer. Weezyer is a complete rager in my headphones, as well as a work of art. Rap and rock are two totally different sounds but have one IMPORTANT factor in common:  They both make for excellent party music. Twice the fun when combined.

Courtesy of Myspace.com/MoleStarMusic

With that being said, download Weezyer, add it to your party playlist, go on a liquor-store shopping spree and invite over 100 of your closest friends.

My favorite tracks: A Milli + Troublemaker, The Dope Nose is Poppin’ Bottles, Got Money in the Sun and Stuntin’ Like My Daddy in Beverly Hills.